West Virginia Falls to No. 15 TCU Following Poor Defensive Performance

Ft. Worth, TX - West Virginia gave TCU an easy path to the basket Wednesday night, allowing 21 layups as four Horned Frogs (17-5, 6-3) hit double figures and handed the Mountaineers (13-9, 2-7) a 76-72 loss.

TCU guard Shahada Wells recorded the game's first bucket, but West Virginia grabbed a 9-6 advantage to open the game after forward Tre Mitchell hit a three from the top of the key. 

The West Virginia defense struggled to keep TCU from driving to the bucket in the first half. The Horned Frogs got 21 attempts around the rim in the first half, connecting on 13 of them

The Mountaineers had a stretch of 1-7 shooting from the field while TCU extended its lead to nine, 26-17, with 5:18 remaining in the first half.

West Virginia responded with an 8-1 run to cut the deficit to two with just over two minutes left in the half but a layup by forward JaKobe Coles received a layup on the other end as the Horned Frogs held a four-point lead at halftime, 36-32.

TCU continued to get easy looks at the rim in the second half and Wells added a corner three to stretch the Horned Frog lead to 11, 49-38, at the 14:38 mark of the second half. 

West Virginia cut the lead to six after an offensive putback from Mitchell with 8:19 remaining in the game. 

TCU built its largest lead of the game of 12 in the later stages of the game, but WVU guard Erik Stevenson buried a three with two minutes left in the contest to get the Mountaineers within six. 

The Mountaineers sent TCU to the free throw line in the 30 seconds of the game where the Horned Frogs went 6-8 from the line to hold off any chance of a comeback and give WVU its seventh Big 12 loss of the season, 76-72.

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